Netflix‘s vast sci-fi catalog includes one brilliant two-season series that had some of the most incredible and profound quotes in the history of the genre. The show in question ultimately became a victim of Netflix’s unfair cancellations and did not return after season 2 despite having many more stories to tell. Even to this day, however, its fans keep recalling how it left an indelible mark on them with its story beats and quotes.
The OA landed on Netflix around a time when the streaming service was a lot more experimental with its sci-fi offerings. After its premiere, The OA even earned positive reviews from both viewers and critics before getting the opportunity to return for another season. Unfortunately, despite its critical success, The OA seemingly remained obscure compared to other popular series like Stranger Things.
While it garnered a solid cult following and many even touted it as one of the most profound and ambitious shows on the streaming service, The OA could not return after season 2. After all these years, it seems unlikely that The OA will get a second chance to continue its run. However, it is still hard not to recall some of its best story threads and the hard-hitting quotes and lessons they left viewers with.
The OA’s Two Seasons Are Packed With Incredibly Profound Quotes
At its core, The OA unfolds more as a mystery box sci-fi thriller that explores everything from interdimensional travel to near-death experiences. It also does not shy away from introducing compelling ideas before completely forgetting about them to prompt viewers to fill the gaps with their imagination. However, beyond its sci-fi thriller elements, there is almost something spiritual about The OA, especially in season 1.
Almost throughout season 1, the Netflix sci-fi show follows two timelines, where one is in the past while the other focuses on the present. The past timeline is portrayed as a mere recollection of its main character’s traumatic experience of being held captive in a mad scientist’s basement with other individuals. Since the show unfolds primarily from her perspective, as a viewer you keep wondering whether Praire is a reliable narrator.
Her wise musings on how “to exist is to survive unfair choices” and “it’s no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society” make her incredibly appealing, encouraging viewers to trust her. At the same time, her painful recollections of her past also make one wonder whether the supernatural aspects of her story are mere manifestations of unresolved trauma.
“The first time you fall asleep in prison, you forget. You wake up a free woman. And then you remember that you’re not. You lose your freedom many times before you finally believe it.”
Looking back, many story beats portrayed in The OA and their hinted religious and philosophical underpinnings almost sound ridiculous on paper. However, the brilliance with which the show grounds its bizarre and wildly ambitious sci-fi ideas with human emotion is beyond impressive. It turns a tale of captivity into something truly profound and memorable.
Owing to this, long after its credits stop rolling, you cannot help but ponder over its main character’s hard-hitting quotes about our flawed perception of power and freedom. One of these quotes even cites the examples of lab rats to explain how the illusion of choice often keeps individuals complacent:
“Lab rats are only powerless because they don’t understand that they’re in an experiment. But they’re just as much a part of it as the scientist, in some ways even more.”
The OA’s Cancellation Still Hurts After 7 Years
Even after all these years, The OA seems to have a solid cult following. Many viewers keep rewatching the series and hope that its creators, Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij, will eventually get to realize their vision of completing its run with five seasons. Since so many years have passed after The OA‘s cancellation on Netflix, its return to the streaming service almost seems impossible.
However, viewers can still watch its existing two seasons and embrace it as a rare piece of science fiction that defies many conventions and blends many diverse genres into one narrative.
Interestingly, a closer look at one of The OA‘s most famous quotes almost feels like a perfect mirror of the tragedy of its cancellation:
“The biggest mistake I made was believing that if I cast a beautiful net, I’d catch only beautiful things.”
Like Prairie, the Netflix sci-fi show’s creators, too, cast a beautiful net by delivering something incredibly novel and compelling. Unfortunately, despite their best efforts, the show ultimately “caught” an abrupt cancellation. Many viewers even tried to save it through extensive fan campaigns and even its cast members showed interest in returning for more seasons, but, unfortunately, The OA‘s future remains uncertain for now.